Most
of these poems were written by the composer
around the time of his visit to Arthur
Benjamin in London.

However
I have included a couple of later works
which have a musical interest.

NOONTIME

the
city in busy day

time
after time of

endless
movement in

decay
of morning

the
blind turmoil

of life's
intense

hurry
in search of the

sun
whose molten rays

weep
currents through

opaque
clouds

NIGHTWALK

leaves
fall

fanlike
over

blank
thoughts

disinterested
gaze

picture

vaguely
visual

moving
slowly

out
of focus

weaving
mistily

out
of mind

WINTER
TREES

wind
blown wonders

bent
brown boughs

stretching
limbs

gaping
leafless branches

trunkless
wonders

branchless
stems

web
winded

silhouetted
against

grey
skies

AUTHOR
OF ULYSSES

iron
intellect

literary
lion

shocker
of the twenties

singing
songs to the

proud
penelope

you
the bard of the pianola

weaving
dreams

dung-like
of discovery

tightening
your influence

over
oxford poets

SNOWFALL

the
snow falls

grass
trees hedges

are
topped with crystal

the
snow falls

out
with brush and shovel

the
houseowner in waterproof

snow
covered cap and coat

his
will to move and remove

sweep
and shovel

again
and again

the
snow falls

ELEGY
FROM THE SUBCONSCIOUS

his
life's labours were not in vain

for
the elbow lust of life's pain and

dart
distrust of the thoughtless

flow
of darkened conceits

were
his

whether
his conscience

in debating
right

or his
opinion in

shunning
wrong

was
right

his
was happily granted will

answered
and obeying

thoughts
of deep doubt

self
pitied nought nor

attained
by abstract wish

RIVER
RUN

the
river runs in

shadow

translucent
splendour

overhung

the
green grass

moss
of fishes in

shadow

the
river runs

WOMAN
FROM CALVADOS

what
was this girl for

the
one from calvados

did
she know beforehand

in the
many hours of waiting

what
was to be her vocation

how
could such a simple mind

plan
such a sly and useful move

like
a cat

about
to pounce

on
a mouse

TRANSITIONS

sitting
alone I hear the

quiet
chatter of many

people
eagerly awaiting

some
news of friends from

other
years or times or other places

often
the changing face of someone

many
months or years apart in time

(Written at
London airport the day before

The Beatles
arrived back from the USA) - RS

IN MEMORIAM
FRANCIS POULENC (January 30th
1963)

pen
in hand you take your final devotion
what should have been a day of creation
turns to become a day of revelation
peaceful you lie wearing the smile of
old times
as if to greet the friend who will follow
the one who will grieve today when he
hears
apollo is over

your
colleagues continue at a pitch much
lower
your friends are with you at a tempo
slower

the
pen is taken from stiff fingers
it is no longer frozen there by cold
morning
but lies on the desk now
with the paper and pencils
which recorded the sounds and rhythms
the shapes and forms
only you transposed into beauty

the
spirit remains in its finest intonation
the strings offer you a final supplication

the
harp is silent in its mourning and
voices only you could comprehend
have fallen away one by one
leaving only the solo song
as in the work which was fashioned
by the one who will follow

a single
voice finding its final repose
a monody which only you could compose

[The above was
written near Paris the day after Francis
Poulenc died] - RS